Monday, November 7, 2011

Best Soy, Worst Soy, Should You Eat Soy?

Um, not the most appetizing selection of foods, would you agree?

I could write about my friends coming over to cook Friday. We made delicious red lentil soup and I learned the most efficient way to cut cauliflower. I also could write about the NYC marathon yesterday (congrats to our Foodtrainers' clients who completed the race). There are many easier topics to write about than soy but I’ve postponed this doozy long enough. One of my closest friends from the past sent me a note asking “soy -is it good or bad? How much is ok? Is the amount different for men and women? What about little girls?”

To let the “soy” cat out of the bag, I don’t think soy is the wonder substance or cure-all it has been made out to be. The way we eat soy in this country bastardizes how soy was traditionally eaten. This is a blog post and not a research paper so I will tell you my soy questions started in graduate school. One of our teachers, a vegetarian, explained how she had been nicknamed Ms. Tofu (I think that was it) for her love of all things soy. She changed her view after a breast cancer diagnosis and did suspect soy played a role in the development of her disease. This was someone who ate soy immoderately (admittedly) and there is no way to prove the truth of her hypothesis but it definitely made me reevaluate soy and how I eat it and how I suggest others eat it. The isoflavones in soy, genistein and diadzein, are similar to human estrogen and may fuel certain cancer growth in cells with estrogen receptors.

For starters, there are some forms of soy you should avoid. TVP, which stands for textured vegetable protein, soy protein isolates and soy protein concentrates are shoddy, inferior examples of soy. Read your labels and skip foods with these in it. Additionally, do a pantry, fridge and freezer check (Boca Burger or Luna bar anyone?) and toss foods with these ingredients. Soy protein powder, protein bars and faux meats commonly use soy isolates and TVP. These ingredients are also common in fast food and school lunch programs. For those of you who purchased the Skinny Bitch book these items figured prominently in that food plan.

To make soy protein isolates or TVP takes heavy machinery, potent chemicals and leaves behind the fiber and many nutrients found in the original soybean. Additionally there are worrisome levels of certain substances, such as aluminum, left with the soy protein. Think of bathing in toxic bath oil, even once you dry yourself off, some residue remains. Want to eat that residue? Speaking of drying, the spray drying method used for soy forms nitrites. According to the Cornucopia Institute many processed soy foods, including some “made from organic soybeans” utilize hexane a pollutant and neurotoxin. The cancer connection for processed soy foods is stronger than for traditional whole soy. Processed, mangled estrogen, carcinogens, neurotoxins? Not for my family.

Fermented soy products are probably the best soy foods to consume. Examples of these are miso (delicious), tempeh, natto and soy sauce. Fermentation increases the digestibility of soy and adds “good” bacteria and reduces the plant estrogen content in soy foods. When we look at Asian diets in Japan about half of soy consumption is from fermented soy and the other half tofu and dried soybeans. In China, soy consumption originated when it was discovered how to ferment soy.

In terms of children, I was interested to hear the Israeli health ministry issued an advisory saying babies should not get soy formula and children under 18 should limit soy in their diets. Other countries such as the UK and Australia have soy warnings as well. As with food dyes and many other questionable ingredients, the U.S. says these foods are safe. As far as men, they unknowingly consume soy in many bars, shakes and “muscle building” products. These are concentrated sources of processed soy. Very high soy consumption can affect testosterone, estrogen and thyroid hormone levels as well as iron absorption. For this reason, anyone with a thyroid condition or trying to conceive should, in my opinion, skip soy that is unfermented. Women with breast cancer or at high risk for breast cancer should skip unfermented soy as well.

As far as actionable steps:

First, take stock of soy’s role in your diet. Look at everything from your bread to your snacks.

Next, dabble in fermented soy. Natto is not a big part of my diet but I’ll glaze fish or vegetables with miso and my kids love miso soup.

If you do buy tofu or edamame, look for organic or non GMO (organic assures it’s non GMO) though in some cases it’s hard to know if these are “organic” Chinese soybeans or US organic where standards are actually enforced.

I’m not convinced you should add tofu or edamame to your diet if it isn’t there already. You want a rule I’d go with eating these foods once a week (max).

And finally, for new moms reading this, do try to avoid soy formulas.

There are so many angles in the soy discussion that I was forced to simplify things. Let’s see where your questions lie and perhaps we can revisit this topic. In the mean time:How often do you eat soy? Have you tried miso or tempeh? Do your kids have soy? Would you have rather read about cutting cauliflower? NYC readers- I’m giving a fun talk at the YinOva Center the evening of Thursday, 11/17, 7pmEat, Drink and Be Healthy: The Savvy Girls' Guide to the Holidays
Call 212-533-2255 to register, bring a "savvy" friend and all your holiday food questions.

39 comments:

This is kind of scary. I was really freaked out when I watched the movie Forks Over Knives, and taking soy out of the equation even further limits what foods one can eat w/o causing cancer. Will TVP always be listed clearly?

Look for TVP, textured vegetable protein, soy isolates, soy concentrates there are many codewords because they can't say adulterated nasty soy. I am not sure soy ever had to figure so prominently that taking it out would be that hard, for many it is.

I get this question a lot, and to be honest, I'm still not 100% sure how to answer it. The research is still inconclusive, so I basically say "it's better to be safe than sorry, so eat soy, but do NOT take soy supplements!". I have ready plenty of research that says soy actually decreases the mortality rate of those who are breast cancer survivors, but like you, I think the best forms of soy are those that are fermented(like what they actually eat in Japan!). Ironically, I posted a recipe for tempeh bacon this morning :) Perfect timing!

So glad you posted about this! I cut out all processed forms of soy a few years back because of bloating/gas issues... my belly does not like soy protein isolate.The only soy I eat is miso soup, soy sauce... and organic tofu maybe once a month.I completely agree that soy should not be in infant formulas. Non-organic Soybeans are not only genetically modified, they're bathed w/ Monsantos roundup ready herbicide!

Ooh, what time is the talk? Sounds interesting! Plus I would love to meet you in person. Hopefully I can make it!

As for soy, I have a confession: I use a touch of soy milk if I go to Starbucks (WHY can't coffee shops carry Almond Breeze? WHY?) It's literally a dab, but it does bring a ton of guilt every time I do it. Guess I should learn to drink my Americano black.

Ever since learning about the dangers of soy I have pretty much steered clear (Americano aside) but my mom and I went through a phase when I was in high school when we were eating a lot of soy and veggie products. I wonder if that could have anything to do with my hypothyroidism today?

When I first became vegetarian, I fell into the soy trap. I drank soymilk, ate Kashi (a soy-based cerreal), cooked tofu and meat analogues. After about a week, I developed hives. It was like my entire body was covered in a giant mosquito bite. I cried from the itching; and I was both an adult and NOT a crier. My doctor and I went through what had changed in my life recently, and I realized it was the soy. I stopped eating it, and the hives cleared up in a few days. So, yeah...soy is NOT for me. I do sometimes eat tofu if I'm in a restaurant, but that doesn't happen very often and a little bit doesn't affect me.

This is a really interesting article. The fact is that soy was extremely well-marketed for a while. It was held up as a superfood. Now, despite the evidence to the contrary, it's hard to change that view of soy as "good for you".

I limit my soy consumption to one time a day, and try to focus on fermented soy products. As a vegan it's a great source of protein but I don't want to risk over consumption at all! thanks for this post!

Elizabeth- fermented 1/day seems fine. For me 1/day otherwise is high. I don't see soy as a dietary stable, even for vegan diets. Stephanie- that sounds like a soy reaction I've heard before, your body was telling you something. A lot of the soy as superfood came from the cholesterol lowering claim which was revoked as would take eating boatloads of soy per day.

Great post Lauren, and one that I've been putting off writing too, since the research is all across the board. I probably do soy a few time per week, but only organic, and never soy isolates or TVP. One thing i like about tofu is that i find it very filling, and keeps me full for a long time. My kids have it occasionally, but not a lot (my daughter loves miso soup ) and never had it as infants. Interesting to learn Israel, UK, and Australia have soy warnings for kids. What are your thoughts on soy milk?

Uh, I just looked at all my Morning Star products and guess what the first ingredient is in every single one? TVP. I'm frustrated because I feel that the more I read about what harmful effects our modern food has on our bodies, the more limited my food options become. What's worse is that I am legitimately scared about all of this info, and feel like no matter what I do in life, I'm going to get cancer. Bah!

Don't feel that way. Your best bet? Stick to less "modern" food and more traditional food legumes, real grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and if not veg. organic poultry, eggs and wild fish. Only processed food gives you cancer (kidding). EA- I just don't do much soy, don't feel I digest it well. I have nothing against whole, organic milk or almond milk/coconut for smoothies etc.

I gave up TVP when we switched to a whole food approach to eating. But I didn't think about edamame or tofu as something to avoid. Ok, no more tofu and I'll limit my edamame and make sure it's only organic.

Years ago when I began digging into the facts about foods and supplements, I discovered the soy/estrogen link. I was eliminating all of the estrogen mimicking products I could find in my life because I was estrogen dominant. Now I have added some things back into my life, but the only unfermented soy allowed is organic edamame. I keep a frozen bag in the freezer at work and it easily lasts me a year.

I used to break out so much more when I consumed soy. And now that I don't my skin is better than ever. It has a long way to go but it's massively improved! I know that other people have had the same experience so I avoid soy as much as possible.

With the exception of miso and Braggs I tend to stay away from soy simply because I don't like the taste. I was a vegetarian growing up and then I realized I was eating a lot of fake food and decided that for me eating real meat was better than eating the fake stuff.

I also had a friend who used to drink soy lattes all the time until she noticed that it was causing changes in her monthly cycle. She stopped and everything went back to normal. Scary stuff.

My rule is non-gmo temeph or tofu... and to avoid as much of the other schtuff as possible for the reasons you touched on above!

ps: the spider cups are little silicone baking cups for cupcakes. we don't do sweets much in my fam so my mom put them to better use =) love that she's still having fun in the kitchen! wish i was there with her!

Jenn- schtuff is right, ew. Jenny you should read the link (on GMO) "are meat substitutes worse than meat" I think you and I would agree they are. Braggs is controversial for it's alleged MSG content, I'm a wheat free tamari girl

I recently started eating tofu and tempeh again. I was scared off it for a while but, for me it came down to eating a Tyson chicken breast or organic tofu. I personally think the organic tofu is a better choice. And maybe that's what it comes down to. Weighing options.

This is such a great post Lauren! Just in time for me to share it with some of my readers who recently asked about Soy. Oh, and p.s. I work at Ishta Yoga which is right next door to the YinOva center. ;-)

Hi Elyssa, thanks for stopping by. As an RD I'm sure you have your own 2 cents on soy. One of the potential explanations of lower cancer rates in Asian women was though to be early soy intake. From what I can see Asian soy intake, types of soy foods and portions are not the same. I worry about soy and early puberty/breast development in young girls. Boys or girls I wouldn't use soy preventively or add it to a diet if it wasn't already there.

I've always been skeptical of soy and it disappoints me that it is so dominant in our foods. I have never knowingly eaten tofu or had soy milk or anything deliberately soy, but it's often so hidden in our foods. Some days I wish I knew nothing about reading labels and could just eat with ignorant bliss!!

This is an excellent post. I was given soy formula back in 1960 when I was diagnosed as a borderline Celiac and that is part of the steps they took back then. I am convinced it is part of the reason if not the reason I have hypothyroidism today. I try to tell people to only eat fermented soy if any at all and to NEVER give soy to their children. I see parents all the time giving soy chips to kids thinking it is healthier than reg. potato chips. I believe that most nutritionists and the US in general has done public health a disservice in recommending soy the way they do. Thank you for research and for an extremely well written and easily understood article on shy soy is better avoided than ingested. I wish my vegan friends would take note. They seem not to pay attention to this.

Tempeh is one of my favorite products. I have made everything I can think of with tempeh from burgers and chili to meatballs. I eat tofu once in a long while and typically it is in a stir-fry with egg, vegetables and rice.

I don't drink soy milk anymore, but more because I like the taste of Almond milk over soy milk. Coconut yogurt has replaced soy yogurt but then again because of taste.

As a vegetarian soy is a 'staple' but not as much as people would think it would be. I love sauteed vegetables and don't need soy for that. I enjoy baking sweet potato fries with roasted brussel sprouts and again don't need soy for that.

I do use protein powders and I know that soy is in there but I believe it is in moderation in regards to my consumption so not overly concerned about it FOR NOW!

I had read that soy is good when it is traditionally processed but that non traditional processes (such as soy milk you buy at the super market) is very hamful for the reasons you mentioned above. In your opinion is there any truth in this?